Purchasing that supports social equity

Initiatives

Make purchases that reflect your values and support community health.

• Purchase food that is fair and supports a valued workforce. Accepted third-party verified certifications that meet these criteria can be found here, under valued workforce. 

• Goal: 5% of total food spend 
• Sample milestone: 2% of total food spend over 12 months

• Purchase local food from businesses owned by people who have experienced negative systemic social and/or economic impacts such as (but not limited to) women, veterans, persons with disabilities, or people of color. Look for suppliers representing Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE). Some of the certifications to look for include:
  • Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)
  • Women Business Enterprise (WBE)
  • Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)
  • Women Owned Small Business (WOSB)

• Goal: 15% of qualifying local spend
• Sample milestone: 5% of total food spend over 12 months

• Purchase local food from suppliers that identify as people of color. 

• Goal: 5% of qualifying local spend

• Purchase animal products that are produced without the use of antibiotics for disease prevention or other routine purposes. Accepted third-party verified certifications and label claims that meet these criteria can be found here, under community health and nutrition. 

• For chicken:
• Goal: 75% of total chicken spend
• Sample milestone: 40% of total chicken spend over 12 months

• For all other animal products:
• Goal: 30% of total animal product spend (minus chicken)
• Sample milestone: 15% of total animal product spend over 12 months (minus chicken)

• Increase the amount of whole or minimally processed foods purchased.

Employ culinary strategies through menu design and innovation.

• Design menus and food offerings that elevate use of local, seasonal, and native or naturally occurring foods. 
• Design menus that prioritize whole foods and plant-forward options.
• Design menus and food offerings that are culturally relevant.

“I first made the veggie korma for the Afghan refugees because I wanted something they could be comfortable eating, that came, like me, from Afghanistan, and was healthy with a lot of flavors in it.”  – Chef Shekeba Samadzada, UW Health

• Design menus to offer options for dietary and religious needs upon request (e.g., Kosher or Halal options, gluten- and lactose-free, vegan, and allergy-sensitive).
• Wherever possible, adopt scratch cooking at meal sites and invest in kitchen infrastructure to process whole foods and animals. This will also involve training staff on scratch cooking and how to use new kitchen equipment. Intermediate steps could include speed scratch cooking in place, scratch cooking in place in some sites, or a plan in place for implementation of scratch cooking (i.e., dedicated funding, strategic plan drafted to build infrastructure and train staff).

Implement policies and practices that center social equity and protect worker and community health and safety.

• Have a union contract with food service workers at your institution (both directly hired or employees of a subcontracted food service company). 
• Set direct and contracted food worker wages at your institution at a local living wage.
• Implement a labor peace policy that requires that all food service vendors have a labor peace agreement with a labor union.
• Work with your organization to develop a supplier/vendor diversification policy and implementation plan with goals that include reporting and accountability measures. 
• Develop and implement a vendor evaluation criteria that reflects your institution’s values, procurement goals, and commitments. Build allowances for flexibility with vendor requirements, size of procurement, and operational/logistics requirements in all contracts and solicitations.
• Work with your organization to develop and implement comprehensive institutional policy(ies) that address and support the rights of workers and ensure that all food workers are provided a dignified livelihood, the right to organize, safe and healthy working conditions, and living wages.

“For the workers, the very first issue is wages because they have to make a living, they have to eat, they have to feed their families, they have to pay rent, they need money for transportation. That’s the issue they would rank first.” 
– Jeannie Economos, Farmworker Association of Florida 

• Include the protection of worker rights as criteria for determining vendor responsibility via the procurement process. For example, in new solicitations and contracts, you can ask vendors to comply with, and to ensure companies in their supply chain comply with, international and domestic labor laws (including state and local) in countries where they produce goods and services. It might be helpful to Include in all new solicitations and contracts a policy or protocol for sanctions when a vendor and/or its supplier is out of compliance with international and/or domestic labor laws, including the institution’s right to refuse a bid or contract and/or terminate a contract based on a violation of the contractual agreement.
• Develop budgets and prioritize fair prices to suppliers to better align institutional prices with the true/whole cost for values-aligned food. 
• Create resolutions and purchasing policies that expand antibiotic stewardship. Advocate that stakeholders in the supply chain carry products that are produced without the use of antibiotics for disease prevention or other routine purposes.

Engage in public policy advocacy.

• Identify allied organizations to add weight to your voice. Consider seeking support from professional associations or reputable advocacy groups. 
• Work with local governments and/or community-based organizations on policy initiatives. A good place to start is including food in emergency and climate adaptation preparedness planning. 
• Stay abreast on the issue and the status of pertinent policy – such as sign-on letters of support for policy reform.
• Advocate through your own personal choices. For example, you can choose to purchase meat that has been raised without the use of antibiotics for disease prevention or other routine purposes.